Door buffer and retainer



June 28, 1932. D. M. WlNANS 1,865,404 7 DOOR BUFFER AND RETAINER Fild Oct. 14. 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet l {ATTORW June 28, 1932. D. M. WINANS 1,865,404

DOOR BUFFER AND RETAINER Filed 001;. 14 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 ZfW MM HIS ATTORNEY F 11 36,25 3 M n ns- Patented June 28, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE DANIEL M. wiivans, or rsrivenaivrron, new YORK, ASSIGNOR To THE BREWER-Timonnnsa coaroaa rron, or CORTLAND, NEW YORK, a coaroaarron or new YORK DOOR BUFFER AND RETAINER Application filed October 14, 1929.

This invention pertains to buffers for doors or the like, and more particularly has reference to an improved bumper and antirattler device for silencing automobile doors. Doors that do not fit snugly are liable to rattle when subjected to car vibration, while tightly fitting doors are likely to cause squeaking whenever the engaging surfaces move past each other. It is the purpose of my improvements to allow of hanging the door reasonably loose and still prevent rattling thereof.

The primary object of the present invention is to provide for a simple and effective retaining fixture of this character serving to guide the door latch into proper engagement with its striker plate, also one adapted to absorb shock when the door is slammed shut and to releasably hold the swinging edge of a closed door against obnoxious rattling effects.

A further object is to provide for a suitable casing adapted to mount a pair of yieldable female clamping jaws having a relative movement of approach and which jaws are arranged to receive and frictionally grip a cooperating dovetail-like male member when ever the door is pushed into its fully closed position. An outstanding feature of my bumper embodiment resides in so disposing of said clamping jaws that in closing the door, the male member is caused to enter therebetween against an intensified resistance and still allowing said member to withdraw from the jaws without requiring a correspondingly heavy pull to be exerted in opening the door. Embodied herein are also other structural features designed to accomplish the foregoing and related purposes, all of which will be more explicitly set forth hereinafter.

Reference is had to the annexed two sheets of drawings which are illustrative of certain specific embodiments of my invention, like characters of reference indicate like parts, and in which drawings:

Serial No. 399551.

Fig. 1 is a perspective view depicting a portion of an automobile door and jamb post therefor, with my invention applied thereto.

Fig. 2 represents an exterior view of an assembled female casing that carries spaced resilient jaw members and which view is enlarged over the corresponding element shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 shows a sectional view of the assembled casing as taken along a plane parallel to the trim plate and coinciding with the vertical line IHHI of Fig. 2.

Fig. l illustrates a fragmental transverse sectional view of said female casing as taken along the horizontal line IV--IV of Fig. 2 but including the male member together with associated portions of the jamb and door members shown in Fig. l which are here brought into cooperative relation.

Fig. 5 is a sectional View as taken along the transverse vertical plane VV of Fig. 3.

Figs. 6 and 7 respectively show a plan and an end View of modified female clamping members.

Fig. 8 is a perspective view of the clamped l. male member of my door bumper in which the projecting tongue is made adjustable with respect to its mounting plate, and Fig. 9 represents a sectional View of such assembly as taken along line IX-IX of Fig. 8.

Fig. 10 indicates in transverse section, a multiple installation of my device as applied interiorly of a hollow jamb post intended to have two swinging door edges close thereagainst, While Fig. 11 represents a fragmental elevational view of one such post side.

Proceeding now to a description of the drawings, Fig. 1 is intended to indicate certain conventional motor car elements indirectly associated with my buffer device, of which 10 represents the swinging edge of a suitably hinged door provided with a marginal ledge 11 while the stationary door jamb 12 is rabbeted at 13 and adapted to overlappingly receive said ledge in the usual manner. The door is further shown equipt with a latch 14 and the jamb provided with a cooperating striker plate 15; said jamb is also provided with a rubber stop pad 16 for the ledge to abut against when the door is brought into its fully closed position.

The numeral 18 indicates in its entirety, the preferred style of female member of my improved bufler device as applied exteriorly of the door amb while the numeral 19 represents in its entirety the cooperating adjustable male member thereof that may be applied immediately behind the door ledge as shown. As will be understood, the described order of attachment may also be reversed without changing the function of my device.

Figs. 2 to 5 inclusive show the details of said female member 18 which may comprise a cross-sectionally Z shaped trim plate 20 having a flat facing flange 21 and a transversely disposed Web 22, which are centrally slotted at 23 and adapted to receive a cooperating male member in the fashion disclosed in Fig. 4. The flange 21 may be provided with a. pair of obliquely spaced slits such as 24 which may be symmetrically disposed about the slot 23 in the manner indicated.

My device further includes a unitary sheetmetal housing or casing comprising a backing plate 25, also two oppositely disposed side Walls such as 26 which are set in an inclined relation to form a wedge-receiving space therebetween. Each such wall may terminate in an ear-like lug 27 respectively adapted to be received by the slits 24 and serving to secure said housing behind the trim plate. The projecting lug ends are intended to be exteriorly upset or riveted upon said plate in the conventional manner after all the working parts have been assembled therein. Said housing may be provided with an inturned tail flange 28 although this is not an essential feature.

Mounted within said housing, are two yieldable clamping blocks which may be made up from soft rubber rectangular striplike stock or similar resilient material 30 that is cut into short lengths, of which each such may be partially sheathed with a metallic facing or wearing shoe such as 31. The unseathed faces of said blocks are preferably placed outwardly to abut directly against the interior of the respective obliquely disposed housing side walls 26, thus forming a wedgeshaped space between said facing shoes with the converging shoe edges located in a remote relation to the assembled web flange 22 as indicated in Fig. 3. While substantial endwise movement of the complementary blocks is prevented, their inclinedshoes are still allowed to spread apart and also move longitudinally to a limited degree when the male member is forced therebetween. It is further preferred to make the angulaixflare between said shoes relatively large and sulficiently wide to bring about a counter force tending to automatically throw back or return the entered male member in self-opening fashion except when this is positively held in place by the door latch.

Cooperating with said complementary shoes, is a wedge piece or clip preferably but not necessarily made up from strip spring material and formed into a triple loop-like shape of which the center fold comprises complementary spaced jaws such as 33 dis posed to constitute a dovetail receiving socket. Said jaws are shown interconnected by a resilient bridge piece or yoke 34 while the respective wing ends such as 85, are each given a close return bend with the free terminal portion thereof resting in immediate adjacency to the yoke 3% in the fashion shown in Fig. 3 and thereby hold the allowable inward terminal flezrure within the desired limits. Said wings are oppositely sloped in order to lie contiguous to and allow; the wings to glide lengthwise of the respective inclined abutment faces 31 after the various working parts are operatively assembled. It is preferred to so form the complementary wings 35 that they will have to be initially forced into place and thus resiliently press apart and maintain the spaced blocks 30 against their respective fixed sloping abutment walls.

Figs. 6 and 7 show a modified clamping structure in that an alternative clip socket 86 is here provided with oppositely disposed loops such as 37 which are respectively made to embrace separate rubber cushioning blocks such as 38 and which loops may likewise be inter-connected by the resilient yoke 34A.

In this particular clip or wedge piece, its

tail ends are designed to glide directly along their respective inturned casing walls and the cushioning medium is here interposed between the socket jaws and each of said loop wings without resort to separate wear shoes. l

vVhile the loop is shown as initially extending beyond the end of the backing plate 25A by a distance designated as S; such overhanging clip portions are intended to be sprung into the wedge-shaped side walls by i the web 22 whenever the housing is mounted in place behind the trim plate or the like.

Figs. 8 and 9 detail the preferred style of male member of my door buffer device that is designated as 19 in Fig. 1. This adjustable dovetail comprises a rectangular base or mounting plate 39 equipt with a flat elongated recess 40 and in which plate, the corner regions are perforated for screw fastenings. The flat recess portion is further provided with a pair of longitudinally spaced screwslots such as 41 and mounted in said recess is an adjustable tonguemember 1-2 having oppositely disposed flange extensions 43 with screw holes therethrough that respectively register with the aligned slots 41. The tongue 42 is here formed up integrally with said extensions from relatively heavy sheet-metal stock so as to provide for an elongated male member of which the jaw-spreading sidle faces are preferably kept parallelly spaced and given an overall thickness dimension that is somewhat smaller than that of the gap provided between the parallel socket jaws 33. It is preferred to oppositely bevel the longitudinal edges 40A of said plate recess in order that the respective cooperating edges of the flanges 43 may be firmly wedged in place when the tongue is secured in adjusted position.

A the rear of said fiat plate indentation, a tapped retaining plate 44 is carried and complementary adjusting screws 45 are entered through the respective holes and the free ends thereof are upset at 46 to prevent the screws from dropping out of place in the event it is desired to loosen the same for adjusting purposes. As will be apparent, the base plate is intended to be fixedly secured to the door or jamb, whereupon the dovetail tongue that is adjustably clamped to said plate, may readily be shifted within the recess limits. This expedient assumes especial significance when utilized in W connection with the present day rapid production methods. Door hanging is still a difficult art and since the base plate and the female member of my buffer device are both intended to be independently and finally screwed to their respective supports, the male tongue may nevertheless be set and brought into proper alignment with its receiving socket.

Fig. 4 shows the manner in which the male and female members of my buffet coact while the door is being closed, it being pointed out that the yoke 34 is disposed to lie in the path of the tongue 42. The relatively long tongue is intended to initially enter more or less freely between the pair of socket jaws 33 to at least the extent indicated in said View where the door still stands ajar. In this initial operative position, the leading edge of said ton ue first strikes the clip yoke and upon continued door closure movement said yoke will thereupon be pressed bodily inward and carried toward the spaced housing tail flange 2S and into final or wedged position where the tongue becomes releasably retained between the converging ends of the inclined buffer abutments; the resulting shift on part of the clip will in turn glidingly carry the wings 35 along their respective inclined shoe faces, thus causing the gripping jaws 33 to squeeze together and exert a progressively increasing pressure upon the op posite side faces of the dovetail 42 while the resilient blocks remain fixedly located relative to their respective casing side-walls 26. This double frictional grip serves to snugly hold the closed door members against rattle; When the door is brought home against the stop pad 16 and the latch 14 has become engaged with the striker plate 15, the resilient clip will be tightly wedged between the inclined shoes 31 and the wing ends thereof sprung inwardly to reenforcingly rest upon the interposed yoke 34. l/Vhile the cited wedging action causes the cushioning blocks 30 to be compressed to a certain extent, the reaction thereagainst brings together the mouth portion of the spaced clamping jaws and imparts thereto a relative movement of approach with respect to the fully entered male member 42.

It now remains to describe a further modification in which a hollow sheet-metal jamb post 47 is made to serve for closing a pair of adjoining doors thereagainst as indicated by transverse section in Fig. 10. In such application the trim plate 20 of my device may be dispensed with. Assuming the opposite side walls of said jamb post to be provided with suitably spaced slits such as 24 and also with an intermediate slot such as 23, then an assembled housing such as is shown in Fig. 6, may be interiorly disposed along each of the side walls and clinched in place through ear-like lugs 27.

It is preferred to keep the wings of my slidable clip in close relation to the spaced jaws as shown in Fig. 3 in order to provide for a compact resilient jaw formation adapted to exert the minimum of bending effect and consequent distortion upon the yoke 34.

The bonding effect exerted thereon is positively limited by the spacing given to the jawgap over and above the size of tongue which is to be gripped therebetween.

By virtue of the disclosed inclined block face disposition, there is set up a counteracting force that assists in opening the door immediately upon its being unlatched, notwithstanding that the door might have been tightly slammed shut and the buffer members carried by momentum into tight frictional engagement. In my device, the effort needed to reopen the door is materially reduced as compared to that required to close the same. This outstanding feature represents a decided advantage over conventional practice where the door is commonly hard to reopen and re quires a pull substantially equal to the push or slam imposed in closing the door; in the cited practice, the buifer jaws are usually set close together and not adapted to freely receive the male member without initial jaw spreading action. In my self opening buffer device on the contrary, the clamping members only grip the entered male member after the latter has been almost wholly entered 3 in addition, provision is made to hold the door latch in rattle-proof engagement with its striker plate.

It will be observed that in my buffer device, all parts comprised in the female member thereof, are disposed within the housing confines, also that the cushioning medium or complementary backings are disposed to fixedly rest upon the interior side of the respective housing side-walls and require no movement therealong. It is preferred to center the shiftable element in the yieldable wings of my interposed wedge-piece; the sliding faces of these wings are purposely kept in close adjacency with the clamping jaws so as to prevent any undue cocking tendency while the device is being actuated. After the tongue of my male member has been freely entered between the clip jaws and into thrusting engagement with the clip yoke,- continued inward tongue movement is made to bodily pick up and carry the wedge-piece toward the converging region of the inclined innermost faces of the sheathed backings. As a result, the resiliently backed sheaths become spread apart while the jaws are at the same time given a movement of approach that finally brings about a snug gripping of the 1 interposed tongue part.

Doors tend to sag in use due to hinge wear and they also fail to align properly during factory assembly, hence the described vertical adjustment given to my male buifer member, readily allows of correcting any such misalignment. Furthermore, no lubrication of parts is necessary and particularly not as regards the exposed projecting tongue 42 which when greased, is likely to be wiped off and soil the clothing of the entering car passengers. Not only are all parts of my buffer device kept simple and economical to fabricate, but any door equipt therewith is easily manipulated and a satisfactory anti-rattle-proof door ensemble is assured.

It is to be understood that the disclosed buffer device also finds application to purposes other than automobile uses, and that various changes in the details and mode of attachment may be resorted to in likewise carrying out my illustrative embodiments, all without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention, heretofore described and more particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a door buffer device comprising a female member, the combination of a housing for the female member provided with a pair of oppositely disposed side-walls, a resilient backing for each of said side-walls which backings immovably rest interiorly upon their respective side-walls, the respective innermost faces of said backings being convergently spaced apart to constitute a wedge receiving flare therebetween, a sheath for each of said innermost backing faces, a wedgepiece shiftably interposed 7 between said sheaths, said piece including a pair of jaws bridged at one of, their ends by a resilient yoke while the opposite jaw ends respectively carry complementary wings that are slidably mounted relative to their contiguous backing sheaths and all of which preceding female parts are disposed wholly Within the housing confines and-adapted to cooperate with a movable male member, and which male member is provided with an actuating tongue part that is freely enterable between said jaws into thrusting engagement with the yoke thereof andfthereupon by continued yoke thrust, serving to pick up and bodily shift the wedge-piece toward the converging region of said flare, said backing sheaths being thereby spread apart while simultaneously imparting a movement of approach to the jaws adapted to grip the tongue part for door retaining purposes.

2. In a door fixture comprising a female member, the combination of a' housing for the female member having a pair of oppositely disposed side-walls, a resilient block for each of said side-walls which blocks rest immovably upon the interior of their respective side-walls, the respective innermost block faces being convergently spaced apart to constitute a wedge receiving flare therebetween, a wear shoe for each of said innermost block faces, a wedge-piece shiftably mounted between said shoes, said piece including a pair of clamping jaws that are bridged by resilient yoke means and equipt with exteriorly disposed wing-like parts respectively arranged to slide relative to their contiguous shoes and to be bodily shifted inwardly toward the converging end region of said shoes and adapted to cooperate with a movable male member, and which male member is provided with a tongue-like projection that is freely enterable between said jaws when the door is set ajar while upon further inward door movement, the male projection is made to thrust against said yoke and impart a shifting movement to said piece, said thrust causing the wear shoes to spread apart and simultaneously give the jaws a movement of approach adapted to grip said entered male member for door retaining purposes.

3. In a door buffer device comprising a female member, the combination of a housing for the female member provided with apair ofoppositely disposed side-walls, a resilient backing for each of said side-walls which backings immovably rest interiorly upon their respective side-walls, the respective innermost faces of said backings being convergently spaced apart to constitute a wedge receiving flare therebetween, a resilient wedge piece slidably interposed between said innermost faces, and including a pair of separated clamping jaws bridged at one of their ends by a yoke and each such jaw being further provided with an overhung wing whose free terminal is normally kept spaced from its jaw exterior, said piece being adapted to cooperate with a movable male member and which male member is provided with an actuating tongue part that is freely enterable between said jaws into thrusting engagement with the yoke thereof and thereupon by continued thrust serving to pick up and bodily shift the wedge piece into the converging region of said flare, thereby squeezing the free wing terminals toward each other and simultaneously imparting a movment of approach to the jaws that grips the interposed tongue part for door retaining purposes.

In testimony whereof, I have herewith set my hand this 9th day of October, 1929.

DANIEL M. WINANS. 

